First Week of Advent

First Week of Advent

     With the new start of the church year and the start of Advent we start to get ready for the coming of Jesus. These four weeks we are to prepare our homes and our heart to receive Jesus. The first week we light the candle that symbolizes Hope. The hope of salvation and to be redeemed. 

      We are to prepare our hearts and souls so that Jesus can rest in us. We do this by cleaning out the debris of the past year to make room for Jesus. There will be reconciliation services over the next four weeks to help us to do this. We also need to go deeper into ourselves and search for that star that we may follow to find Jesus inside ourselves. Each day we can light that inner advent candle so that we may carry that hope each day with us. It will remind us what truly is important this advent season. 

     When we carry that light of hope with us in the world we are showing others what this season means and who is really coming on December 25th. 

Until tomorrow, God Bless, and let the light of hope be in you this advent. 

Advent Prayer

Grant your faithful, we pray, almighty God,

the resolve to run forth to meet your Christ

with righteous deeds at his coming,

so that, gathered at his right hand,

they may be worthy to possess the heavenly Kingdom.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.

St. Andrew

Saint Andrew

Feastday: November 30

Patron of Fisherman

Andrew, like his brother Simon Peter, was a fisherman. He became a disciple of the great St. John the Baptist, but when John pointed to Jesus and said, "Behold the Lamb of God!" Andrew understood that Jesus was greater. At once he left John to follow the Divine Master. Jesus knew that Andrew was walking behind him, and turning back, he asked, "what do you seek?" When Andrew answered that he would like to know where Jesus lived, Our Lord replied, "Come and see." Andrew had been only a little time with Jesus when he realized that this was truly the Messiah.

From then on, he chose to follow Jesus. Andrew was thus the first disciple of Christ. Next, Andrew brought his brother Simon (St. Peter) to Jesus and Jesus received him, too, as His disciple. At first the two brothers continued to carry on their fishing trade and family affairs, but later, the Lord called them to stay with Him all the time. He promised to make them fishers of men, and this time, they left their nets for good. It is believed that after Our Lord ascended into Heaven, St. Andrew went to Greece to preach the gospel. He is said to have been put to death on a cross, to which he was tied, not nailed. He lived two days in that state of suffering, still preaching to the people who gathered around their beloved Apostle. Two countries have chosen St. Andrew as their patron - Russia and Scotland.

Until tomorrow, God Bless, and live like a saint today. 

Download

Download

“For I know well the plans I have in mind for you—oracle of the LORD—plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope.” ~ Jeremiah 29:11

   We are all good for “uploading” our prayers to God but, what about “Downloading” what God wants for or from us? It is very easy to just ask God for help but we also have to listen to His replies. It is a two way relationship and the flow of prayers, answers, God’s dreams for us, and His will is a continuous flow. 

    It is in the “downloading” of God’s intentions, will and dreams that will help us keep on the right path in our lives. Within that we will find the answers to our prayers as well. God wants to share this information but we have to access Him and then we can start downloading the information. He will not hack into our will and try and take over and take whatever He wants. He will not do this because of free will. 

     The better the connection we have with God, the better and faster the information can be shared. How many times have you waited for a website to download or a message to open? It is very frustrating when we lose that connection or that the connection is running slow. Just like on computers we have to empty our cache so we can receive the information quicker. We have to keep those distractions that take up and fill our caches to a minimum. Recognize the things that fill the memory and take up needed space. If we are filled up, we can not download information and find it easily in ourselves. 

      That high speed connection is maintained by praying, going to mass, spending time with God, increasing your knowledge and finding those God outlets that you can plug into. This also helps keep us from filling our cache with things that are not good for us and keeps sin from becoming a virus where it slows down that connection we have going. Sin will be a blocker for that connection. It will slow down our connection and can even cause us to crash. Asking for forgiveness of the sins will open up areas for us to fill with the information we are downloading from God. The sins are taken from us and put in the trash that will be emptied. Once that is done that connection can again grow stronger and faster and the flow of Grace starts that flow again.

     The connection we have with God does need to be free of things that slows that connection down. We need to have a connection that allows both “uploading” and “downloading”. If we do not have that then we will crash because we get those things that will help us updated with God. Those updates will help us on the new trials and blessings that are around us and before us. We will have an easier time walking by faith if it is continuously up to date on what is going on in our lives. 

    The great part is that God does not charge us for this connection. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you are that connection can be made. He will not charge extra for those downloads or have a cap on how much data you send or receive. It is the best plan out there, so take advantage of it and connect. 

Until tomorrow, God Bless, and keep that flow of downloading going. 

Wake Up

Wake Up

“And do this because you know the time; it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep. For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed” 

~Romans 13:11

 For many of us we need that external stimulus to wake us every morning. It starts with that alarm clock, then maybe the shower to wake us but for a lot of people it is that cup of coffee that really starts to wake us up. It is the taking in of that caffeine that stimulates us and we become more and more awake with each sip. 

   To have a spiritual wake up we need to do that same thing. We need to take daily sips of prayer and the bible. With each verse we read we become more awake and aware of the messages of salvation. Each prayer awakens our soul to keep that connection flowing with God. When we do not do this our spiritual life starts to become tired and starts to fade and finally sleeps. It will become dormant if we do not revive it. 

   There is no time better then the present to have that spiritual wake up call. We all are in need of this in our lives. The more we take in of the spiritual life the more awake we become. We become more aware of God in our lives and how He is moving in us and through us. Things start to become clearer and we are able to stay focused on our goals . 

    The goal of this spiritual life is to get to Heaven and be with God. To serve and worship Him here on earth. To do this we need to be awake. The journey does not stop. It is an on going daily trek. If we keep falling asleep we are not moving. We become stagnant and start to lose that momentum. Those external stimuli will help us stay awake and each time we take them into our bodies and soul we are energized to move and continue on. You have to find those external stimuli that work for you. 

    Some external stimuli can be christian music, bible, rosary, church, prayer groups, bible study, christian service and religious talks. There are others way also but it is something that each one of us need to find for ourselves. Those were just some that I have found that keeps me spiritually awake. 

Until tomorrow, God Bless, and let the spiritual caffeine flow through you. 

Gifts

Gifts

“There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord” ~1Corinthians 12:4-5

When we think of gifts from God, one of the first things that pop in our heads are the gifts of the Holy Spirit, both the seven gifts and the charism gifts.The gifts are for us and to build up the church and each other. It gives us that extra spiritual push here on earth. This will not be a blog explaining the gifts or the differences between them but about how we interact with these gifts from God. 

      I guess I have to first state that I am a firm believer in the gifts of the Holy Spirit both the seven gifts ( Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, Fear of the Lord and Wisdom) and the charism gifts ( Prophecy, Tongues, Interpretation of Tongues, Faith, Healing, Miracles, Word of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge and Discernment of Spirits). I do feel that there is the need for these in the church and in our own personal lives. Within these gifts lies the most basic of things from God, and that is His love for us and for His church. God wants us to grow both in faith and in knowledge. The gifts are one way we can do that. 

     I want to focus on the beginning steps of the gifts and not the spiritual elements of these gifts in this blog. It is how we deal and accept the gifts that state how and if those spiritual elements will come into our lives and with that the church. 

      When we receive a gift for our birthdays, christmas, etc.. we first read the card and see who it is from. The words are important in a card. It states why the gift is being given. Yes, for the most part you know why because it is about you. You are the reason for the gift. It is a special occasion, a time to rejoice, or a time to honor. When we receive gifts from God, He does the same. It is for you and He does want you to feel you are special to Him and His love for you is in that gift. Whatever that may be. Scripture is His card to express how He feels about you. He will say what it is for and how you are to use it. God does not just wait till the holidays to give us gifts. 

       The second part of the gift after the card is the gift itself. We unwrap it and we see what we received. Think if you gave someone a gift and each time you were at their home you saw that gift just sitting on the table not opened. How would you feel? You gave that gift to that person for a reason and they just do not seem to care about what is under that wrapping. We do the same when we do not unwrap or open that gift that God gave us. 

     We have to “open the gift”. Opening the gift, comes in two ways. First we have to be open to receive a gift from the start. If we are not open the gift will not be there. Someone can hand you a gift and you can reject it and that is the same here. You can close yourself off from God and the gifts but even if you just have that door to God open a crack, He can use it to give that gift. The second part is to open the gift and see what it is. We do this by prayer and action. Ask and try to feel out what the gift is. It may not be so quick for us to know what we have inside. Again, we can be open to receive the gifts but we decide if and when we open them. God is not going to force you to open them. They can just sit there and gather dust if that is what you want to do or you can open them. 

    Ok, so you decided to open your gifts, now what? Use them. It is that simple. Start using them in your life and see them take shape and see where it takes you. Share that gift you have for yourself, the church, and for those around you. That is the reason why you got the gift, to USE THEM..... Do not be one of the people who receive this great gift and it just sits there collecting dust. You have to decide to use them. God will not make you. It is like people who have these great mixers they do not use and they just sit on the kitchen counter taking up space. What is the point of having that gift then? I guess one can argue, that someday you will need to use it but why wait? 

     I can understand that sometimes these gifts from God can be hard to understand, hard to put into practice and even maybe not something you wanted. There is not this great direct written owners manual that is given for us to read and understand. We can read about the gifts in the bible and get some sense of them but the best way when we do not understand how it works is to call on God. Just like when we can not figure something out about our computers or tv we call that 1 800 number and ask for help. God is willing to help us use the gifts He gives us. We are not left to fend for ourselves. 

      The gifts we receive are to be a blessing and not a curse. They are meant to build us up and not tear us or others down. The gifts are not better then anyone else's. They are not for bragging rights either. God does not give gifts so we can put a spot light on ourselves. Remember these gifts are from God and it is God using us with those gifts for the glory of Him. It is through Him that these gifts are given. 

Until tomorrow, God Bless, and remember you do not have to wait till Christmas to open your gifts from God. 

Awe

Awe

"Awe came upon everyone, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles" ~ Acts 2:43

    Tonight was the Pontifical Solemn High Mass at St. Hedwig Parish in Trenton. I really can not express how amazing the whole night was. The only word that come close is “Awe”. Sometimes words can not express what you have experienced. I wanted to come home and write this blog and express everything that went on but I honestly can not find the words to do so. If you ever get the chance to attend the mass, I would say, it is a must. Your sense of reverence and awe will forever be changed. 

      I do hope that I will be able to put tonight into better words tomorrow. 

Until tomorrow, God Bless, and keep an open mind and experience God in a new way. 

Advent

Advent

     Advent is just a few days away and with that we start ushering in the new year in the church. We start to prepare the way for Jesus to be born and also for Him to be born in us again at the start of the new year. Each Sunday during Advent, I will be posting reflections on the reading and prayers for advent. This way we, together, are setting the way for Jesus to come into the Church, our Homes, and most importantly into our hearts and souls.

      The word Advent comes from the Latin word Adventus meaning “coming”. It lasts for four weeks. Each week we gather around the advent wreath and say prayers and light a candle. There are four candles for the four weeks. Three purple and one rose color. I will  go into more detail as the weeks go on through advent. 

       Tonights blog is a reminder of the New Year starting in the church and with the new year, we are able to renew ourselves in the church. I pray that this advents brings us all closer to Jesus, God, Saints, Church, Faith and each other. 

Until tomorrow, God Bless, and prepare the way of Jesus.